The Sichuan Giant Panda Bases and Sanctuaries

In the mountains of southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, a network of research centers, nature reserves, breeding facilities, and wildlife sanctuaries has been established to support native endangered species, especially the vulnerable giant panda. Researchers have been working for decades in the Wolong National Nature Reserve and Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to boost the numbers of giant pandas in captivity, and to reintroduce some of them into the wild. Since 2006, the breeding program has released seven captive-bred pandas into the wild, two of which have died. At the moment, there are an estimated 1,864 giant pandas living in the wild in China, with a bit more than 225 living in captivity.

Researchers dressed in panda costumes place a panda cub into a basket before transferring it to a new living environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China, on February 20, 2011. The 6-month-old cub was being transferred to a bigger living environment with a higher altitude and a more complicated terrain, marking the beginning of the second phase of its training to reintroduce it to the wild. Researchers wear panda costumes to ensure that the cub's environment is devoid of human influence, according to local media.#

A giant panda sits in a tree at the new base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province, on October 30, 2012. The first batch of 18 pandas returned to Wolong base on Tuesday, after being sent to Bifengxia base following the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.#

A feeder dons a panda suit to give a routine check to a giant panda as a child plays with the head of the costume at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on February 3, 2011.#

Feeders dressed as pandas carry giant panda cub Tao Tao in a training base at the Hetaoping China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on February 20, 2011. Tao Tao was the first animal to be subjected to the program involving feeders who perform checkups dressed as pandas.#

A researcher dressed as panda places Tao Tao in a new enclosure at the Hetaoping China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on February 20, 2011. The reintroduction program had entered the second phase during which Tao Tao and its mother Cao Cao were transferred to a larger wild enclosure for further training.#

Xiang Xiang, a 4-year-old male raised at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in Sichuan province, set to be released after almost three years of training, will be tracked by a Global Positioning System device, photographed at the Conservation Center in Wolong, China, on April 27, 2006. The panda research center was readying for its first release into the wild of a panda bred in captivity. His experience "will help scientists study how artificially raised pandas adapt to the wild," Zhang Hemin, the center's head, was quoted as saying. Xiang Xiang survived in the wild for less than a year—his body was discovered the following February, apparently having died from injuries "sustained in a fall after getting into a fight with wild-born males."#

A red panda gets some water from a flower after a rain shower at the Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu on June 11, 2008. Following the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which damaged the Research Center and killed one giant panda, the remaining pandas were temporarily moved to the Bifengxia Panda Base, while repairs were made.#

Workers wearing panda masks use a wireless device to detect the location of Yingxue, a panda which has received survival training, at a protection base before reintroducing it to the wild, in Wolong, Sichuan province, China, on November 20, 2017.#

Researchers dressed in panda costumes carry a cage as they transfer giant panda Tao Tao to a new living environment at the Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda on May 3, 2012.#

A giant panda sits in a tree at a panda breeding center in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, on January 11, 2012. The giant panda is among six young giant pandas which were bred in captivity and were released as a group of "pioneers" into an enclosed forest in Sichuan province. The release is the first step of a project aiming to help the endangered species to adapt to the wild environment and eventually survive in the wild, Xinhua News Agency reported.#

A red panda at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on September 19, 2007. Founded in 1987, the base is dedicated to the conservation of native Chinese endangered species including the giant panda and red panda.#

A giant panda cub tumbles from the stage while 23 giant pandas born in 2016 were displayed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, on September 29, 2016.#

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